Armstrong settles

[cadence90]

Originally Posted by AngryScientist

Hey guys: c’mon. Keep it on the rails eh?

Thanks.

OK, will do.

This thread makes so much want to ride with Felice Gimondi.
.

[Chris]

I was one of the first ones to rake Flash over the coals yesterday, but I gotta come to his defense on this one. I don't carry around a pitchfork looking for Lance, but there are few people outside of the most corrupt in corporate America or politics who acted in a more despicable way or deserved retribution more than Lance. He wasn't like the others who just doped and did their jobs and kept their mouths shut or came up with ridiculous stories about how their doping positives were mistakes. He went about intimidating people and ruining peoples' careers and lives in a manner unlike any other athletes. You can forgive him, but you cannot equate his misdeeds with those of the others who doped.

I guess cheaters do win sometimes.

[pbarry]

If FL's attorney fees were that much, imagine what LA's are? More than the total settlement figure by 2x is my guess. But whoever negotiated this on the gov side is a poor poker player. Double the amount would have been agreed to, if not 3X or 4X and it would have been agreed to so -7 could save face. Glad it's over but the ending could have been better. Two stars for this flop.

[FlashUNC]

Originally Posted by cadence90

OK, will do.

This thread makes so much want to ride with Felice Gimondi.
.

There's cool, then there's Felice Gimondi riding with Marco Pantani cool.

[a4a]

It’s all about the money. It’s always been all about the money. And when people say it’s not about the money... it’s all about the money.

[Burnette]

Originally Posted by galgal

I really liked Cadence's suggestion somewhere above for PL to just move on from Mr. LA. I mean we all love cycling and this is a really wonderful place to share that, I think.
That being said, there seems to be some sort of weird initiation ritual where everyone has to have an "opinion" on Armstrong. Two comments then. The settlement is with US Postal, and I wonder how several pages of comments would go or even exist, if the rider was Italian, French, Colombian or Belgian, etc. Secondly, the idea of LA as "victim" is bonkers, c'mon now. There you go and you can rip me but can we just move on to what we love and care about instead off this.

To your point about what if it was a rider from a foreign land, that's what a lot of us are saying. Lance's biggest sin was being a US rider and a jerk who doped, by that I mean cycling is quick to forget those who doped before and after him and there are plenty, but who cares about them?. Per your example, Contador got a pretty good send off considering.

Is Lance or any rider a victim? they willingly partake in the game, but for the riders to take an unfair amount of the punishment when they are the very reason we watch, it's not right either.

For all any of them did though, the sponsors, the bike makers, the component makers, the teams and even fans, none of it rises to the level of hate for me. I think passion is great but some have gone a bit too far with it.

As for the doping, the refusal for some to see it as a continuation systematic plan to delude the public and profit from it that is still in place today just with different people is amazing to me.

[Rudy]

Originally Posted by Burnette

I really think you should examine your relationship with public figures and re-read your post.

To determine that death for Lance would be justice for the offenses he committed is out of step with civilized law and human decency. He didn't kill anybody. As hard as you are on people, take a minute to evaluate your sense of gravity of what he did and what you perceive as just punishment, death, and tell me why you have a right to judge anybody.

Re-evaluate before you become what you hate.

Flash wrote “living in a cardboard box.” Kinda sorta the opposite of wishing him (Armstrong) dead.

[gasman]

Okay everyone. Let’s keep it civil. And yes none of us admires -7 and we all have our own reasons.

[bward1028]

Amazing that people complain that some are only here for the classifieds...

[dpk501]

Who all has an opinion on LA?

WEDU

[weaponsgrade]

Originally Posted by Avispa

This story really sums it up:

http://www.cyclingnews.com/features/...the-same-game/

"CN: There was the mystery package delivery to Wiggins and the TUE issue with Sky as well. (Landis pivots the question to address the 'mistaken' shipment of testosterone that Team Sky and British Cycling doctor Richard Freeman received at the Manchester Velodrome in 2011).

Landis: They tried to claim that in the middle of all this, that just by coincidence some pharmacy mailed a bunch of testosterone to their headquarters, and that was purely an accident.

Has that ever happened to you? Have you ever just received a bunch of testosterone? Yeah, me neither. Well, not when I wasn't ordering it."

That last line gave me a good chuckle.

[oldpotatoe]

Originally Posted by saab2000

What is he worth?

He's been punished enough IMHO and this lawsuit is garbage because everyone got what they wanted when this was going on. The real victims are the people he bullied.

And the other dopers/cheaters that went on TV and whined and cried a little..got what a 6 month suspension?..Not bullies but dopers just...like....LA7, yet they continue to make $ off their cycling 'history'...less the dope. REAL travesty.

IMHO

I agree with Burnette tho(shocking I know)..LA doesn't deserve death, of course...and he's no different than other cheaters with $ and great lawyers...but he got caught, was outed as a pri@k, but the 'show goes on'...ala the UCI, TdF, etc...who certainly make some concessions to news that somebody is cheating...

[Gsinill]

Originally Posted by Burnette

To your point about what if it was a rider from a foreign land, that's what a lot of us are saying. Lance's biggest sin was being a US rider and a jerk who doped, by that I mean cycling is quick to forget those who doped before and after him and there are plenty, but who cares about them?

"The higher they climb, the harder they fall"...
I.e. folks in the US inappropriately and consistently referring to him as "hero" for being a guy that happens to be good on a bike that then turns out to be a jerk instead.

[redir]

He'll probably be running for office very soon, mark my word.

[dieonthishill]

Give him the 7 victories back now. Anyone who is losing sleep over this has some serious baggage. The popularity of cycling in the US would be no where near what it is now if it weren’t for Lance.

The sport has not benefited from this at all, it has actually hurt it, IMO. To ban him from any involvement in cycling in any way is stupid and just reflects poorly and hypocritical on the sport.

I would argue certain people elected into certain powerful political offices have done much worse.